The One

Too often people think of me as a "difficult" person. I think the words people usually use to describe me are suplada, masungit, mataray and matapang. My mom often scolded me and would always say, "hindi ka maliligawan niyan". On the other hand, I thought, if a man would try to win my heart and see beyond that tough facade, then he would be "the one".

A few weeks before our college graduation, I found that man... the brave one, the one destined to be my partner for life.

Fourteen years ago, I found him and five years later, we got married. It has been both blissful and challenging 9 years. But I am thankful for every day that he is beside me.

So, to my husband, the father of my children, my partner, my best friend... thank you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for making me a wife and a mother. Thank you for your patience and thank you for supporting my dreams. I may not always show it but I love you so much. You have given me more happiness than I could imagine. I know it's not always easy to love me, but somehow, you always manage to. I will be forever thankful for having you as my partner in life.

Late Post 1: United Nations Day

A few days after the Linggo ng Wika, Dana and Darla's school celebrated another event, the United Nations Day. The kids were required to wear the national costumes of the countries they represent and they have to bring the countries' flags as well.

Darla was too small for the ready-to-wear costumes at the mall. Luckily, my cousin gave us a Chinese costume that her daughter wore when she was still a toddler. It fits Darla perfectly, so, even though she doesn't look like a Chinese girl, she dressed up as one.

From her costume, you would probably assume that Dana is representing Hawaii. Wrong! She is Ms. French Polynesia! Why French Polynesia? Well, because their flag is easier to make. The national costume for French Polynesia is very similar to Hawaii though.

Aside from the parade, each of the classes had dance numbers. It was fun seeing my girls perform on stage, most especially Darla, as her confidence grows with every school activity that comes.

Back from Hiatus / Multiply No More

I haven't been blogging for months. So many things happened at work that prevented me from writing. Anyway, I am back and I will be blogging as often as I could.

We finished another schoolyear and Dana and Darla is about to start a new one in a few weeks. Until then, I shall write about their various school activities that I was not able to write about for more than 6 months.

I used to write my blogs through Multiply. When I discovered Multiply, I decided it was a better networking site than Friendster. So, I transferred all my stuff there. The interface was much easier, photo sharing is a breeze and what I love about it the most is that your site is more customizable than other blogging and networking sites.

Last December, Multiply announced that its networking function will cease operations and will function as a marketplace instead. It advised all personal users to transfer their entries to blogger.com and other blogging sites. The move was quite disappointing for someone like me who's an active member. Imagine, it's where I share my daughters' monthly developmental milestones. Sadly, we had no choice.

Then, just last week, Multiply made another announcement, that it will close altogether, including the marketplace function on May 6, 2013. It was not able to sustain its current format mainly because the buyers at the marketplace used to be all Multiply account owners. Since they closed the personal multiply sites, people stopped shopping from Multiply sellers. One by one, the sellers transferred to Facebook because the buyers are there.

Anyway, like Friendster, Multiply will now soon be a thing of the past. Now I can't help but wonder whether blogsites like this one would suffer the same fate. I hope not.

Linggo ng Wika 2012

This year, Linggo ng Wika is twice as exciting as both my daughters performed in their Linggo ng Wika program. Dana and Darla's school, Kindergarten Camp Learning Center, celebrated Linggo ng Wika by giving tribute to the greatest OPM hits.



Aling Dana and Aling Darla sporting a Filipiniana look with their 300-peso patadyong bought online.

I was so proud of my little Darla because while most of her classmates are either crying or running crazy on the stage, she was paying attention to her teacher who were guiding them with the dance steps. Here's Darla's toddler class dancing to various Filipino nursery rhymes:



Dana, on the other hand, was as confident on the stage as ever. She really likes dancing. This is Dana's class, Kinder - Starlight section, dancing to Gary V's hit, Heto na Naman:

No matter how busy my schedule gets, I make sure that I attend Dana and Darla's school activities. Nothing beats watching my daughters bloom on stage, and I am bracing myself for more precious moments like this.

Dana Punchlines 16-20

Let me first thank my friends and relatives who are avid followers of the Dana Punchlines series. But I hope you read my other blog entries too. :-)

Dana Punchlines 16 - July 22, 2011

(Sa isang birthday party...)
Me: Dana, try mo itong fish, masarap, promise.
(Dana tries the fish)
Me: O, masarap, di ba?
(Dana nods)
Me: Try mo naman itong chicken, masarap din, promise!
(Dana tries the chicken)
Dana: Mommy, ayaw ko yan!
Me: Bakit? Masarap kaya!
Dana: Ayaw ko yan, mommy. Promise!

Dana Punchlines 17 - July 22, 2011

(Same birthday party as punchline 16, dinner time)
Dana: Nasaan na yung babaeng may hawak ng mic kanina?
(She was referring to the party host)
Me: Baka kumakain din, anak.
(Dana looked around)
Dana: Bakit di ko siya nakikita?
Me: Baka nagtatago.
Dana: Bakit siya nagtatago?
Me: Baka nahihiya.
Dana: Eh, bakit kanina hindi siya nahihiya?
(Di ko na alam ang isasagot ko at this point).

Dana Punchlines 18 - July 24, 2011

(While eating breakfast, lumapit sa akin si Dana)
Dana: Mommy, I want to eat.
Me: Wow! Ang galing mo na talaga mag-English anak! Ano ulit yun? Ulitin mo nga.
Dana: Mommy, I want to KAON!
(Ayun o, hinalo ang Bicol sa English! Biclish?)

Dana Punchlines 19 - August 7, 2011

(Sa isang birthday party na naman sa Jollibee)
Dana: Mommy, nauuhaw ako. Gusto ko ng Coke.
Me: May tubig ka diyan, wag na lang Coke. Bawal sa 'yo yan.
Dana: Eh, bakit pag pumupunta kami nina Mamita sa Jollibee, pinapainom nila ako ng Coke?
(Iniabot ko ang Coke)
Me: Konti lang ha?
Mental Note: Lagot sa akin si Mommy (Mamita ni Dana) pag-uwi!

Dana Punchlines 20 - October 18, 2011

Last Sunday, after exploring Eton Centris' playground, Dana wanted to ride the carousel:
Dana: Mommy, gusto ko sumakay doon.
Me: Sige, mamaya anak, kain muna tayo.
Dana: Ok, mommy.
Me: Bilisan mo kumain para makasakay ka agad dun.
Dana: Sa TSUBIBO?
(Classic ka anak, pati words mo classic. Ang tagal ko nang hindi naririnig ang word na tsubibo).